Grin And Bear It
by TheUsernameless
Summary: Three young kids learn to survive together through the toughest of times. Their lives aren't easy, especially since they have no homes of their own. They've learn't the hard way that home is where the heart is, but that won't stop Grizz from trying to make something of himself- for his brother's sake more than his own. Meanwhile, Pan searches for love and Ice is Ice. HUMAN AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the story, I hope you enjoy! This my attempt at a WBB Human AU.**

 **For once I don't have an awful lot to say about the story...**

 **(Anik= Ice Bear)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own WBB!**

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The streets are cruel and unforgiving. It is a sad, but well known fact of life. Should you wind up stranded in the endless sea of people, it is unlikely that you will ever get your feet back on the ground. The streets in San Francisco are no different. The rough waves of homelessness swept up seven year old Anik last year. After the incident occurred, the child took his well-being upon himself. His mother was no high profile woman either, which made it easy for him to slip out of any social worker's grasp. On the streets he was no different. He was transparent, insignificant and overlooked. A fact that was ironic considering his looks. The child had choppy, snow-white hair that clung to his face, contrasting mocha skin and the most intense pair of crystal blue eyes. Anik was rather tall for his age as well. He was a boy of incredible looks and talent, but it was all irrelevant. What does that matter when society pegs you as that nameless kid that passes on the street? Well that was how Anik chose to look at things. Not that those strangers' thoughts bothered him. No, Anik was not very emotional or expressive. That part of him was lost to tragedy last year, but in return he gained a thicker shell. A tool as strong as the red axe he carried in his bag, a tool he used to survive.

Anik slipped through the crowd with both hands stuffed in his pockets and blue hoodie pulled down over his eyes, despite the warm weather. The sun's heat was the last thing on the boy's mind. It had been a day since he had eaten anything and he craved food. The very thought of it made his mouth water. There was nothing he could do now, but pickpocket some cash or something he could sell. It was a task he had done many times before, so honing in on a suitable victim was effortless. A man in a black suit caught his eye, he stood on the street rummaging through his briefcase and talking loudly on a phone he had wedged between his shoulder and ear. Anik lowered his eyes only to see the beckoning flash of green sitting openly in the man's pocket. The boy darted his eyes to the left and then to the right, hovering near the target. Luckily, everyone was caught up in their own business. Anik lunged forward and in a swift motion, plunged his hand into the exposed pocket and pulled his reward out.

Anik's heartbeat quickened, the rush of adrenaline propelled him forward. He spun around only to crash into something. His eyes opened to see an irritated man staring down at him. The fear that he'd be caught caused him to shiver. He took a few cautious steps back. Behind him the man he stole from seemed to catch on. Anik was trapped.

"Hey watch it, Kid!"

"Come back here!"

Anik did not dare to look backwards. Instead, he did the first thing he thought of. He pushed the angry man out of his way and took off in a sprint. The man in the suit shouted for someone to catch him, but Anik would not make it easy. With pure determination, he expertly weaved his way through the crowds and streets. The more distance put between them, the better off he would be. He ran until his legs throbbed in protest and he could not run anymore. The unfortunate man was somewhere far behind him, but so were the streets he knew. None of the street names around him were familiar. What good luck he was having. Anik walked around aimlessly, trying to find his way back, but he had no idea how many alleys and turns he had taken in his panic. The boy let out a frustrated sigh and kicked a stone. Since when had he become so careless? The poor boy was now both starving and exhausted. A faint noise and two voices drew his attention, with rare curiosity he moved to follow. Anik followed the sound to an alleyway and peered around the corner. If he squinted he could make out their silhouettes. Their voices lowered to a whisper, and the boy furrowed his brows in concentration to hear them. Suddenly, they stopped speaking and they seemed to turn towards him.

Did they know? He wasn't going to wait to find out, but before he could take off yet again, a hand grabbed his arm. His breath hitched and he turned to see a ... teenager? The guy looked about that age anyway. Anik noticed his kind eyes before anything else. His hair was a messy, chestnut brown colour and he had warm, brown eyes. The guy's skin was tanned, but not as dark as his own. Just behind him was a boy who looked a little younger, maybe around ten or twelve years old. He was Asian and had black hair and lighter eyes than his friend. Anik noticed he lacked the confidence of the other.

"Woah, you alright?" The guy's voice was as warm as his appearance. Anik, still unsure, gave a slight nod of his head.

The teenager crouched down to Anik's level and flashed him a toothy grin. "You lost or something?"

Anik's eyes narrowed in denial and he shook his head with more force. The teenager's dark brown eyes looked him up and down critically and gave a humorless chuckle. Something seemed to have clicked in his head.

"Ah, I get it. You're a street kid, huh?" Both of them seemed sympathetic and yet understanding. Anik gave no reply and they took that as a yes. The other boy edged closer, wearing an unsure smile. He did not have to crouch, he was quite short.

"Are your parents around?"

He shook his head.

"Do you have somewhere to go?"

Another shake of the head. Meanwhile, the two of them seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes. It made Anik feel uncomfortable, so he averted his gaze and shuffled his feet. The taller of the two turned to him with a renewed smile. The other still seemed weary.

"You can stay with us if you want. We're not scary, I promise!" He gave a cheerful chuckle. "My name's Greg, but I go by Grizz," he pointed at the younger, "And that's Pan, my brother." Anik raised a brow. They did not look like brothers to him. Blood probably had nothing to do with their bond.

"What do you say?"

Anik was unsure, but one night would be alright. Maybe they could bring him back in the morning. The boy gave a shrug instead of voicing his thoughts. Grizz seemed unfazed by the lack of conversation. "Great! It's not much, but it's home for now," he explained with a gesture to the alley. Looking a little closer, Anik saw a makeshift shelter and some old furniture strewn around it. It looked better than the bridge he had slept under last night, their place had a more homey feel. Grizz and Pan lead him over to their 'place' and let him sit on one of their chairs. Grizz ruffled Anik's hair, "Welcome to our humble cave." A slight frown came across the boy's face, his hair was everywhere now.

"Hey Pan, the kid looks starving. Do you mind getting something for him to eat?" Grizz rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a single note. Pan took the money and gave Anik another kind smile. "Not at all. I'll be back in a few minutes." Anik felt a pang of guilt for their trouble, especially when his finger brushed against the money in his pocket.

It wasn't long before Grizz tried to strike up another conversation. "So, what's your name?"

When Anik failed to reply, Grizz stared at him curiously.

"Can you speak?"

A cautious nod.

"Man, you're an icy kid aren't ya."


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back! Chapter two is now up and I hope you enjoy it. (The bear bomb has made my week, I can't wait for tonight's episode :o )**

 **Please leave a review if you get the chance, I'd love to know what you think.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN 'WE BARE BEARS'**

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The sun rose over San Francisco, illuminating the city below. The noise of traffic and the bustle of crowds did nothing to disrupt Anik's peaceful morning. For the first time in days, Anik's stomach was satisfyingly full and he slept through the entire night. With Pan and Grizz at either side of him he felt safe, the axe he usually slept with was carefully placed against the wall outside the box. With the brothers there, he could sleep without it. Anik slipped into consciousness with a yawn and a stretch of his arms. His blue eyes stared up at the roof of the large box and he lay, listening to the soft snores of the others. The cardboard looked damp and seemed to be falling apart, in fact the entire fort needed repair. On the sides there were drawings, some badly drawn and others in a style that Anik had never seen before. He liked how they looked, even the scrawly ones, they added character to a place other people would see as desolate.

Pan was next to stir, followed by a groggy Grizz, who stretched as Pan rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The oldest turned over on his side and offered the quiet boy a tired smile.

"Did you have a good sleep?" Anik responded with a nod and a faint smile of his own. Pan shot his older brother a glare and crossed his arms- Anik almost giggled at his expression, he looked the opposite of threatening. Anik had seen threatening.

"I slept well Grizz thanks for asking. How about you?" Pan quipped sarcastically. Grizz seemed to find it as amusing as Anik did. The two of them laughed at the unfortunate pre-teen, though Anik's reaction surprised them all, including himself. Pan and Grizz were effortlessly pulling him out of his shell faster than they had expected. Grizz's stomach rumbled, kicking him into early-morning action. He pushed the blankets back, lunging forward for his yellow backpack. After rustling around he found what he was looking for, bread which was almost out of date, a disposable plastic knife and those small squares of butter and jam you get at restaurants.

"Well brothers, breakfast is served," Grizz grinned enthusiastically, passing them each their fair share. Anik could not be more grateful; not only did he get dinner, but breakfast too. Pan even took the time to butter his bread for him, and Anik wondered if he could pay them back somehow. Maybe one day when he was older he could learn to cook and make them breakfast instead. He would like to do that. Unless they brought him back today. The thought came out of nowhere and ruined the appetite he had worked up. The hope and happiness in his chest dropped, Grizz probably only meant for him to stay one night. Anik silently fretted over it as he ate, they had given him enough as it is. _He could not expect them to look out for him too, could he?_

After breakfast the three gathered their things in backpacks and left no personal belongings behind, but the makeshift fort itself. Pan and Grizz did a quick count of the money they had left and talked amongst themselves quietly. Anik wondered where they got their money from. _Did they steal like he did? Did they find old things to sell?_ It puzzled him, because Grizz and Pan seemed too nice to be thieves and too honest to swindle. Which said a lot about the only one of them that did any of those things, the youngest of them, the stranger, him.

"Well Ice, we're up for hard day's work if you're interested in helping." Anik raised a brow, was Grizz going to call him Ice? Well, they did seem to have a thing for nicknames and Anik could not blame them, he never told them his real name. His curiosity peaked, however, when he heard 'work'. _Were they going to show him how they made money?_ That was something he would really like to see. Anik nodded his head with less enthusiasm than he felt. Grizz and Pan lead the way, only to stop at the first corner they came across.

"This is it," Pan explained gesturing to the street. Anik looked the street up and down, a flash of confusion crossing his face. He tilted his head out of habit. Grizz's deep chuckle sounded from behind and a triangle was forced into his hands. Anik stared down at it. He thought they must be kidding, but turning back he realised they were not. Pan held an old, rusty tambourine and Grizz had a harmonica which was in similar condition. An old hat lay on the ground next to them with some spare change lying in it already.

"One, two three!"

They began to play their instruments, much to Anik's chagrin. The sound was so jarring, the poor boy winced. People on the streets began to stare and mutter in annoyance, which uneased him. Anik was not used to much attention, never mind being in such a mortifying situation. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to disappear, but he could not. Anik owed the brothers for their kindness. With pure determination, he sucked in a breath and began to chime the triangle along with the racket. It did not improve the 'music', but with every passing second Anik forgot that the crowds existed. The three of them were having fun, even more so when someone decided to throw money into their hat. By the end of the day, the three of them were completely worn out. They sat side by side on the pavement, while Grizz counted the money they earned.

"That makes… exactly five dollars."

Pan deflated instantly. "Only five dollars? Are you sure?"

Grizz hunched his shoulders and stuffed the money into his backpack. "Yeah bro, I'm sure." Pan rubbed his hands together nervously, distress written on his face.

"We'll never get by with five dollars!"

Grizz shook his head, "Pan-Pan relax, I'm doing that job for Mrs White tomorrow. That gives us about thirty." No matter what, Grizz always looked to the brighter side of the situation.

"And what do we do until then?"

An unsure silence came over the brothers, leaving Anik feeling out of place. While he fidgeted, his fingers brushed against stiff paper, drawing his attention to it. He abruptly pulled it out of his pocket, the twenty dollars. He could give it to them! With a small, shy smile, he tapped Grizz on the shoulder. The oldest failed to notice in his distraction. He tried again only to be softly swatted away. A pout formed on the younger's face, he hit his own forehead in frustration. _Why wouldn't Grizz pay attention?_

Having no other option, the boy cleared his throat. He did not trust his voice and his throat felt raw with disuse. Nevertheless, he spoke up, choosing to use his new nickname.

"Ice.." He began croakily, but choked on his words. Pan and Grizz's attention was fully on him now. They each had a look of shock on their faces.

"Ice has money," he managed quietly. He handed Grizz what he had. Grizz stared at the money in wonder and Anik worried that he would ask him about it. Instead, an arm was thrown around him and he was pulled into a warm hug.

"Guess dinners on Ice tonight!" Laughter erupted and the enthusiasm returned.

Anik had a feeling that he was going nowhere.


End file.
